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Milan, here is how the rossoneri can revive Bonucci...

13 September at 08:00

When Leonardo Bonucci joined a new look AC Milan from Juventus this past summer, many eyebrows were raised across the footballing fraternity. It seemed like this transfer could possibly shift the power back to the rossoneri for the league title. As things stand though, things haven’t really panned in the way many expected and the edginess is clear when it comes to Bonucci.

The recent 4-1 loss to Simone Inzaghi saw Milan suffer their first defeat of the season, following wins over Crotone and Cagliari. A Ciro Immobile hat-trick wrecked havoc in the rossoneri backline and the Milan back four had no response to the Italian’s masterclass showing. While the performance was terrible, the defense was a shock. With someone like Leo Bonucci, who is one of the best defenders in the world, things weren't expected to unfold that way.

Bonucci’s underperformance is well suggestive of the fact that even the best players in the world take time to settle in. The 30-year-old has been inconsistent, be it on the ball or off it, throughout the three games. He may do one thing right, but won’t do the next one right. He has looked like his usual self a lot of times on the ball, but it a lack of consistency that has garnered negative attention. He has struggled with pace throughout the three games, especially against the likes of Joao Pedro and Marco Sau against Cagliari and against the likes of Immobile, Luis Alberto and Dusan Basta against Lazio. Due to that, he is being dragged out of position much easier than when he was at the Old Lady.

It largely roots from the fact that he is still dealing with the change of system. At Juve, Massimiliano Allegri deployed a trademark Italian 3-5-2 shape with Bonucci either in the centre of the back three or at the right of the triumvirate. Even during Antonio Conte’s reign in Turin, Bonucci performed a similar job alongside the duo of Andrea Barzagli and Georgio Chiellini. At the San Siro now, with full-backs like Ricardo Rodriguez and Andrea Conti in the side, Bonucci and Mateo Musacchio are left to be the two men behind when the others attack. This number used to be three at Juve. Due to that, Bonucci has to cover more space than usual, bringing uncertainty in his play.

While that explains the underperformance with tactical reasons, the very fact that Milan signed a whole team of new players has made it hard on Vincenzo Montella, who has a task on his hand to get his first team right. It has brought instability to the side with reports suggestng that Milan could try out a 3-5-2 in their Europa League game against Austria Wein. That will allow Bonucci to play in a more familiar system but a lot will also depend on how the other players settle into the system. The fact that the other players have been inconsistent in settling into the 4-3-3 formation has been a reason too for the potential change. It's not just down to Bonucci, but down to the others as well...

It's a step up for a lot of players in the side, be it players who surround Bonucci on the pitch, those like Ricardo Rodriguez, Andrea Conti, Lucas Biglia, Franck Kessie or Musacchio himself. Or those like Andre Silva and Fabio Borini as well. It can well be dubbed to be a step down for Bonucci, but he has to do a job in making sure that the others feel at home, as he is the most experienced player in his side.

In conclusion, we all know what he is capable of and it may well be a matter of time before the star center-back regains his form.